Page 62 of Unbearable
“I’ll trade with you anytime,” she snapped back. “You can get pawed for a change.”
He threw the body in the trunk and turned to glare at her. She knew he didn’t like it when she talked back. He would just have to deal tonight, though. She had had a crap week.
Ignoring his gaze, she flopped down in the passenger seat. He didn’t say another word as he drove them back through town. When they arrived at the warehouse, he unlocked the overhead door and pulled inside.
“You should give me a key to the warehouse,” she said, climbing from the car. When he didn’t answer, she continued.“It’s only right if we’re going to be equal partners.” She helped him pull Peter from the trunk and drag him into the first room. They heaved him onto the table in the center of the room.
Edmund began undressing the man. He pulled everything from his pockets and set it aside. Peter’s clothes, he folded neatly before loading them in a duffel bag. She had no idea what he did with them. He always took the clothes with him. She picked up Peter’s wallet and walked to the mural.
“Put it back,” Edmund snarled through his teeth.
“I’m just trying to help,” she said, tossing the wallet back on the table. Suddenly, he was upon her. She found herself pressed against the wall with his hand squeezing her throat.
“You do nothing unless I tell you to,” he hissed in her ear. “Do you understand?” All she could do was nod. His hand had made it impossible to speak. Releasing her, he moved back to the table. She waited by the wall until he’d finished stripping Peter. “You can help me strap him in this time.”
Without speaking a word, she helped wrestle Peter into the other room. They sat him on the floor, and Edmund wrapped the strap around his neck. She knew he would wake up soon. That’s when the fun began.
She helped Edmund attach a cable to the back of the strap. He had explained several times how the contraption on the ceiling worked, but it still escaped her. All she knew was, the more the body struggled, the tighter the strap became. Eventually they were responsible for hanging themselves. That’s how she saw it.
“Can I flip the switch this time?” she asked.
“Not until he wakes up.”
“What do you want to do until then?”
“I have an errand to run. You can wait here until I return.”
It was the first time he had ever trusted her to wait alone. In the past, he had always made her go home. Maybe he reallywas starting to see her as an equal. Her body buzzed at the thought. She would reward him when he returned by letting him do whatever he liked to her. She would do that now, but he was already leaving the room. Until he returned, she would just have to wait.
“Don’t touch anything,” he barked. She nodded once before he stepped through the outer door.
She wandered back into the outer room as the door slammed closed. How would she keep herself entertained until he returned? The clothes were gone, but everything else was still lying on the table. Even though she had agreed to leave everything where it was, she had a different idea.
She picked the wallet back up. She emptied everything from it and spread it across the table. Studying the mural, a pattern started to emerge. If she could copy it there was no reason for him to mind her adding her own touch. It would be another present for him when he returned. There was no reason he wouldn’t see it as her complete devotion to him in her own artistic way.
Slowly, she began adding pieces to the mural. There was glue, tape, and everything else needed to attach something to the wall. It took her at least half an hour to get it just right. The cinderblock wall made it a challenge. It took several tries to find the best way to hang everything.
Stepping back, she was just admiring her finished work when she heard a cry from the other room. It seemed Pete was awake.
“Hello, Peter,” she said, swaggering back into the room.
“Where am I?” They were always confused when they woke up. “Cat?” He tried to get up only to find himself too dizzy to stand. “Help me, Cat.” He managed to make it to his feet and lunge toward her. His fingers grazed her face.
In a panic, she flipped the switch on the wall drawing the slack up in the cable attached to the ceiling. Peter was immediately jerked back against the wall.
She knew Edmund would be furious when he returned, but what else could she do? If Peter had managed to lay a hand on her she might have been hurt. It had been either him or her. She would choose herself every time.
“Now look what you’ve done,” she screamed. Rushing to the outer room in fury, she looked around until she found the crop Edmund used on her occasionally. Taking it back into Peter, she began to whip him. “He’s going to be so angry.”
A red haze fell over her eyes as she continued to strike him. This was all his fault. Everything Edmund would do to her when he returned was because of this man. She struck him harder.
If she had only been listening, she would have heard when he started to gasp for air. Even if she had, she was too angry to care.
He was dead, she realized suddenly. She had lost control and made him kill himself before Edmund was ready. Stepping closer, she poked him in the stomach. His body swayed slightly. She looked down to find his feet off the floor. There was nothing she could do to fix this problem.
Did she feel remorse? Not for Peter, he deserved what he got. But she knew there would be hell to pay from Edmund.
She needed to get out of there before he returned. He would calm down eventually, but not before he took his anger out on her. That was something she didn’t plan to wait around for.